Another open-door hazard on an NJ Transit train, video shows

TRENTON — For the second time this month, a video has surfaced showing a problem with a door on an NJ Transit train.

The latest video shows an open doorway between cars on a Northeast Corridor train early Monday evening from Newark to Trenton.

The video shows that there is nothing to prevent a passenger from falling off the moving train, which can go as fast as 90 mph.

The video was taken by Gabriel Gall, of Ewing, who was stuck in the train's vestibule between Newark and New Brunswick.

"I took the 6:30 train. It was delayed 20 minutes so I took the first available train to Trenton and got on he first car and it was super, super packed so I stepped from the platform onto the vestibule in an attempt to get into the cabin," Gall told New Jersey 101.5. "By the time I tried to get back onto the platform, I was stuck in the vestibule."

The vestibule is the area where passengers enter the train just outside the main seating area.

Gall said he could not find a conductor to report the situation during the ride.

"The train was so packed they didn't even come by to collect my ticket. Usually they only do that when there's several overcrowding," Gail said. He did report the doorway to NJ Transit via Twitter.

"There should have been a safety bar in place," NJ Transit spokeswoman Lisa Torbic said in response to the video. "It appears someone tampered with the bar, and an investigation of what happened is ongoing."

Gall thinks that NJ Transit's problems in recent weeks may be taking a toll on crew members. "I'm wondering if the crew members even care anymore because of the leadership's failure to provide them with the proper equipment to keep us safe."

"I remember a time when (NJ Transit ) used to be really good. And I've been riding the train for nearly 8 years now. It used to be fantastic. Never any delays. Then all of a sudden delays, delays, delays, complaints, wanting to raise fares," Gall said.

In that brief video, other passengers are seen moving through the vestibule, their hair blown around by the wind generated from the speed of the train.

“That was just outright dangerous,” rider Jeffrey Spitery said.

“What I think happened that day was that for some reason they were really short-staffed on that train,” Spitery said, adding that no one collected tickets on his ride. “If you’re operating a train with only two conductors, that’s not safe for the riding public.”

He said that he has observed that on overcrowded trains, the conductors “just kind of give up” collecting tickets.